Unexpected Feelings
by mattie7
Summary: Lindsay is broken and confused because of Danny. Don wants to be a good friend, but will his comfort turn into something else?
1. Chapter 1

This is my first fanfic so we'll see how it goes. I love Danny/Lindsey but I kind of like the idea of her and Flack. This is set right after Danny forgets Lindsey's birthday after Reuben's death. Let me know if you like it and if I should continue.

Just as a small side note, Lindsey's hair is longer like it was in season 3. I like how it is now, but I liked it better longer:)

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY or anything related to it. I also make a small mention of Verizon, I don't own that either.

Don Flack was on his way to the locker room to return Lindsey's phone to her. They had just come back from searching a suspect's home and had found nothing to put the guy at the scene.

As soon as they had pulled up to the lab, Lindsey had rushed off to the locker room to get her stuff and go home. He looked down at the phone in his hand and examined it. A couple weeks ago, there had been a picture of a happy couple looking at each other adoringly as her wallpaper. All that appeared now however, was a Verizon logo where the picture had once been. Don was not unaware of the things going on between Danny and Lindsey. After all, he and Danny were best friends and not to mention that there had been whisperings and rumors going around in the lab. Being around Lindsey though, it was hard for people to tell that there was so much turmoil going on in her life. At work she was normal and composed, but he knew better. He could tell that something was slightly off; that sparkle in her eye had begun to fade a couple weeks back.

When Reuben had died, Don hadn't been surprised by the way Danny had taken it. But what had surprised him was how he had pushed Lindsey away. He was so sure that he would lean her and that their relationship would become stronger. From the way Danny talked about her, he thought that this would be the woman to tame Danny's heart. How wrong he had been.

He was so upset with Danny for treating Lindsey so poorly. He had even forgotten her birthday. Sure, guys forgot their girlfriends' birthday all the time, but they made it up to them not give them some lame excuse for forgetting.

Don wanted to be there for Lindsey; he wanted to comfort her and give her a shoulder to cry on, but they just didn't have that kind of friendship. Sure, they could turn to each other if they were in real trouble, but not for personal stuff like this. Plus, he was Danny's friend and he didn't want to meddle or take sides, even if Danny was wrong…

Before he knew it, Don was outside the locker room. With so much on his mind, he almost didn't notice the quiet sniffling coming from inside. As he looked inside, he saw Lindsey standing at her locker with her head down and her body quietly shaking.

"Hey"

"Oh… hey", she said as she quickly wiped her eyes and started to gather her things.

"You forgot your phone…"

She turned around to face him, and Don's heart broke in pieces. She looked like a beautiful disaster. Her red-rimmed eyes glistened in the poor lighting, her hair that had been tied back was now wildly spilling over her shoulders, and her sad forlorn face was flushed from crying. He didn't know had she had managed it, but Lindsey Monroe made heartbreak look good.

"You wanna talk about it?" he asked.

"No, not really"

"Well, if you ever need to talk…"

"Thanks Don", she said as she gave him a quick smile and headed for the door.

"Hey Linds, do you want a ride?"

"Oh, that's okay. I'm just gonna catch the A".

"C'mon, why would you catch the train when you can get a ride home?" he asked. "Do I smell bad or something?"

She laughed lightly at his joke and he found himself wanting to hear that sound again.

"I'm not taking no for an answer", he continued.

She smiled and waited for him to grab his things and they headed for his car.

* * *

They rode in his car in silence except for the times he asked if she was cold or if she was okay with the radio station. It wasn't an awkward silence, but it was a silence he would have liked to avoid. Whenever he looked at her, he found himself at a loss for words. He wanted to say that it was going to be okay, that Danny was a jerk and it was his loss, but he couldn't say anything. For some reason, he found himself feeling tense with his stomach in knots and he had this great urge to hold her. He dismissed it as lack of sleep and stress due to the case they were working on.

They pulled up to her apartment building and Don struggled to find something to say. He looked at her and she looked back at him.

"Well, this is my stop. Thanks for the ride", she smiled.

"Anytime", he replied.

He took a deep breath and grabbed her hand hoping he wasn't overstepping his boundaries.

"Look, I know we're not that close, but I want you to know that I'm a really good, unbiased listener and I really do care about you. I don't want to force you or anything and I know that you've got Stella, but if you ever want a guy's opinion…"

He could tell that she wanted to let it all out, to explode with what was going on inside her, and he hoped that she would open up to him. When she finally crumpled to a heap in her seat, Don knew that he had finally broken down her walls. When she fell into his arms, he knew that she trusted him. And when their lips found each other in a passionate kiss, he knew that whatever he was feeling had nothing to do with tiredness or stress.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So I really struggled with this chapter. I know where I want things to end up, but it's hard to get there. Anyway, I hope it's okay. Let me know what you think! **

**This chapter is set during Personal Foul. I don't know all the exact timing, so I made up my own. The next chapter is going to be from Lindsay's perspective, at least in the beginning. I am going to take a stab at the whole Danny and Lindsay "rain walk" part. **

**Disclamer: I do not own CSI:NY or any of the characters.**

It had been a whole month since the whole car incident, and Don was more confused than ever, he thought as he grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down at his computer. What had started as an attempt to reach out had turned into a whirlwind of emotions.

After the kiss, Lindsay wouldn't stop apologizing and Don had to assure her that it was okay and that he had been the one to lean in initially. Truth be told, he didn't know who had initiated it. All he knew was that it had ended sooner than he would have liked.

The days following the incident, Lindsay had been a little distant. It worried Don because he wanted anything but distance between them. Eventually, he decided to act as though nothing had happened and Lindsay followed his lead. Everything went back to normal, much to Don's disappointment.

After some time, he convinced himself that whatever he was feeling was just the effect of his new found friendship with Lindsay. She had slowly begun to turn to him more and open up more to him, and in turn, he began to share more with her. They had become really close friends and he was okay with that, he constantly told himself.

He began to pay more attention to Angell. She was beautiful and smart, and not to mention she had been sending hints his way for a long while. He would have to be a complete idiot not to pursue anything with her.

Of course, he didn't have too much time on his hands to really sort any of this out. The city was in deep distress due to the "cabbie killer" and the whole department was working overtime to catch the creep. It was a good distraction for him, except for the few times that he walked through the lab and saw Danny and Lindsey working on something together. He always felt something bubble inside of him slightly when he saw them talking to each other, or when they were sharing a microscope, or when they shared a laugh. It didn't happen too often because Lindsay tried to avoid Danny as much as possible, but he also knew that she was still madly in love with him and love like that was hard to get over. He wasn't even sure that she wanted to get over it, and he knew that Danny was hanging to that small little thread of hope. Danny would have to be a fool to give up on her so easily.

Don was interrupted from his stream of thoughts by his cell phone. As he got up to grab his phone, he silently prayed that it wasn't work. It was his first day off since the whole cabbie killer thing began. He looked at his phone and saw Danny's name appear on the screen.

"Flack" he answered.

"Hey man, you busy tonight?" Danny asked.

"What, you askin me out?"

"Very funny… anyway, I got an extra ticket for tonight's game, you interested?"

"Messer, I'm hurt that you would wait last minute to ask me to go out," Don said jokingly.

"Look, I was supposed to take Lindsay and now she can't go… you interested or not?"

"Yeah, I'll meet you there." Don answered.

* * *

Why was it that every time Don had a night off he ended up working anyway?

At half time, a guy from the audience had been randomly chosen to take a million dollar shot and died soon after making it. Now here he was with Danny and Lindsay trying to find something that would explain this guy's death.

From the moment Lindsay had arrived, Danny had tried to be as casual as possible, but Don could tell that he was silently suffering as he watched her work. Don felt bad for Danny. Yes, he had been the one to mess everything up, but he knew that Danny would have taken everything back if he could have just one more moment with her. The thought made Don feel very uncomfortable and slightly guilty. He could tell that Danny was somewhat envious of all the time that he and Lindsay had started spending together. Though it was all innocent, Don had to admit that sometimes his thoughts weren't always as innocent. He didn't fantasize about her, but he would catch himself thinking of what they would be like together or he would catch himself wanting to hold her hand or touch her face. Sure, things with Jess were going well, but he wasn't sure about his feelings for her yet and their work schedules weren't helping anything.

After gathering all the evidence, Danny and Lindsay went back to the lab to start processing while Don went to do some research on the victim. After finishing up, he headed back to his car and went home to finish the beer he had opened earlier that evening.

* * *

Working on this basketball case was harder than his usual cases. Not because of the victim or the suspects, but because of who he was working with. He didn't really want to be around Danny and Lindsay together. It took a lot out of him, and he had to work really hard to focus on the case. He tried acting as cool as possible, but even Lindsay could tell he was off.

To add to his discomfort, he had had the opportunity to overhear Danny asking Lindsay to talk while he was on his way to get some lab results. He knew that they needed to, but he was afraid that they would make up and he would lose Lindsay, as a friend, Don told himself. On the other hand, he did enjoy was watching Lindsay at work. She was clever, smart, and quick and a lot of the times she came up with the answers before they did. He just wanted to work with her by himself.

After questioning one of the cheerleaders and getting a confession, he went to work on the paperwork. As soon as he was done, he hurried to catch Lindsay before she left. He spotted her as she stepped on the elevator and ran to get on it with her.

"So that was interesting," Flack stated.

"Yeah, but oddly understandable," Lindsay said while laughing.

"You tellin me that you would have done the same?"

"Of course not, but I can imagine the hurt that lingered all these years. To us, it many not seem like a big deal, but everyone has something that hurts them so deeply that it makes them do crazy things."

She responded as though she was talking about something else entirely. Just then, they arrived at the lobby and made their way to the exit.

"When did it start raining?" Don asked, "You need a ride home?"

"Actually, I think I'm going to walk," she said smiling.

He would have argued with her and made her come with him, but something told him that she genuinely wanted to walk in the rain. So he let it go and watched her walk away in the rain.

* * *

Don woke up at noon and he felt good. The last couple days had been eventful, but the worst was now over. The cabbie killer was taken care of, and his hours had gone back to normal. He had managed to get the day off and he was looking forward to it. He got out of bed, went for a run, checked his email, ate, showered and ran some errands. Before he knew it, it was already 9 pm and he was ready to watch the football game on TV. As he sat down, his phone rang and saw that it was Lindsay.

"Flack" he answered.

"Hey, come grab a drink with me," she said.

"Damn, you just cut right to chase, don't you?"

"Sorry", she laughed. "I just got done at the lab and I was headed home, but I kinda feel like going out. You interested?

"Maybe, where were you thinking?" He asked.

"How about that bar a couple blocks from your place?"

"Ok, gimme 20 minutes?"

"Alright, I'll see you there."

He hung up his phone and headed to the bedroom to change out of his sweats. It wasn't unusual for Lindsey to call him to hang out since they had become better friends, but it still made his heart pound just a little bit harder.

Fifteen minutes later, he arrived at the bar and spotted Lindsey at a small table in the corner. As he approached her, he suddenly became dizzy. She was wearing small beater style tank top with a tight pair of jeans, and her hair was pulled up in a messy bun with curls falling out of it. In all the time he had known Lindsey, he had never seen her so casually dressed or even a whole lot of her skin. But tonight, her shirt barely covered her midriff and whenever she leaned slightly to drink some of her beer, more skin was exposed.

He gave himself a few seconds to recover and compose himself and header over to the table.

"I see you've started without me," he spoke from behind. She turned and gave him a big smile and he had to stop himself from blurting out how crazy he was about her, which he wasn't, he kept telling himself.

"So I'm a little impatient…" she answered as he sat down.

"How was work?"

"It was okay, just some damage control and wrapping things up."

"So I didn't miss anything"

"Nope," she sighed. He could tell something was up, but he figured that she would tell him in when she was ready.

"Is that what you wore to work?" he asked with a glint in his eye that didn't go unnoticed.

"Why do you ask?"

"I've just never seen you dressed like that."

"Do you know how humid it was today? By the time I got to work, my shirt was drenched in sweat and this is all I had in my locker," she said.

"Yeah, I noticed… it's been really muggy since that storm a couple nights ago."

"Yeah, rain…" she muttered to herself. Right when he was going to ask about that, his phone rang in his pocket. He grabbed it and saw Angell's name pop up. Hew was tempted to ignore it, but he decided against it.

"I gotta take this, I'll be right back." Lindsey nodded and Don stepped outside to get away from all the noise inside the bar.

"Hey Jess, what's up?"

"Hey, you know that wedding you invited me to?"

Of course he knew, they had talked about going together a couple weeks back, even though he had been reluctant to ask her. It was his cousin's wedding and his family was going to be there. If he showed up with Jess, then they would be saying they were serious and he definitely wasn't there yet. But his cousin had demanded that he not be dateless for fear that he would try to hit on all her bridesmaids.

"Yeah, what about it?" he asked.

"I didn't realize this, but I already made plans for that night so… you're gonna have to find another date." She sounded a little disappointed and it made him feel guilty that he hadn't really wanted to go with her in the first place.

"Well, I don't have to bring a date. I'll just tell my cousin to deal with it."

"No, it's okay. You can take someone else… we're not exclusive," she responded.

"Alright… thanks for the heads up."

"No problem, well I gotta run, see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, see ya then."

He hung up his phone and headed back into the bar. As soon as he got to the table, Lindsey started interrogating him.

"So… you and Jess?" she asked. He swore he was imagining things because for a second he thought he saw a flash of disappointment on her face.

"Yeah, kinda… it's nothing serious though."

"Oh, well I think that's great… she's pretty amazing." Lindsey said. Don just laughed and was hoping he would be successful in changing the subject.

"So you were saying about the rain?" he asked.

"It's nothing", she said.

But Don knew he had hit the nail on the head. Whatever was bothering her had something to do with rain, which sounded odd when he thought it in his head.

"C'mon Linds, I'm not stupid. What is it?"

"Ok," she sighed. "I finally talked to Danny."

He knew this was a big deal. They hadn't talked about anything that had happened and he knew that this talk would either result in the closure she needed or their getting back together. Danny had asked for advice on how to approach things with her, and Don had tried to give him the best advice possible no matter how he was feeling about the situation. Since he hadn't had a chance to talk to either of them for too long, he wasn't sure what the outcome had been.

"Well, what happened?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So here's the 3rd chapter. It goes back in time a little, from where Flack and Lindsay get on the elevator in the last chapter. It's from Lindsay perspective and I attempted to do that whole rain walk part in Personal Foul. It's not exact;y what I wanted, but it'll have to do. Also, thanks for the reviews and I hope you keep on reviewing and letting me know what you think. **

**Also, I've been looking through a lot of F/L stories and I hope mine isn't too similar. I'm going to throw some things in it to make it different. Anyway, on to the story...**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**CHAPTER 3**

_:::FLASHBACK:::_

Lindsay was on the elevator waiting for the doors to close when Don ran through the doors.

"So that was interesting," Flack stated.

"Yeah, but oddly understandable," Lindsay said while laughing.

"You tellin me that you would have done the same?"

"Of course not, but I can imagine the hurt that lingered all these years. To us, it may not seem like a big deal, but everyone has something that hurts them so deeply that it makes them do crazy things," Lindsay said as she was thinking about her and Danny. Pain could make people do the craziest things. When they arrived at the lobby, Lindsay was surprised and glad to see that it was raining.

"When did it start raining?" Don asked, "You need a ride home?"

"Actually, I think I'm going to walk," she said smiling. She needed to clear her head. It was full of Danny, decisions that needed to be made, and a small crush she was developing for another blue-eyed detective.

As she walked down the street, she wondered if blowing Danny off had been the best thing to do. She was so frustrated with him, but she knew that they both needed to talk and figure things out. She knew she couldn't be with him, but she also knew that she couldn't be without him. So what was she to do? She couldn't trust him, that was clear, but what they had had was amazing. They fit perfectly, like a pieces of a puzzle. But what is to be done when the pieces break and no longer fit together? Glue them back together and make them fit? Or let them go their own separate ways to try and fit with new puzzle pieces? She laughed bitterly at the thought that Danny had tried to fit with a different puzzle piece and that was part of the reason they were in this mess. As she started thinking about what her next step should be, her phone rang. She looked down at it and saw Danny's cheesy grin pop up on her screen. She hesitated to answer, but she knew she had to face him.

"Hey,' Lindsay answered.

"Hey, where are you?" Danny asked.

"Taking a rain walk… it's a Montana thing, you wouldn't understand."

"Yeah, maybe I would. Maybe there's a lot of things that I… that I understand now, how bout that?"

"Yeah, like what?" she asked.

"Like how sorry I am for pushing you away."

"Danny, I tried to give you your space. I don't know how much longer I can feel all alone… it's messing with my work, it's breaking my heart…

"I know, no, I know, I do. I swear to God it won't happen again. The truth is… the truth is I miss you… I miss you more than I can say, even if, uh, I don't know how to say it."

"Do you have any idea how hard you are to love?"

"Why don't you come over here and tell me in person… please?" he pleaded. She paused. She couldn't resist him and she knew she had to get off the phone before he could affect her sense of rationality.

"I gotta go."

She hung up the phone not knowing what to do. If she went, they could finally face each other. But if she didn't, they would be able to talk on her terms, not his. She didn't want to be alone with him in his apartment… it was dangerous. He had always had a power over her and she didn't want to give into him, she had to be able to hold her ground. But if she didn't do it now, would she ever do it?

While she made up her mind, she realized that the train station was closed and the only way she could get to her destination was by taxi. As if the night couldn't get more complicated, she thought as she hailed a cab. As the cab slowed to a stop, she held on tight to her gun and her heart in preparation for what was to come.

* * *

She entered the building and slowly made her way up the stairs. As she got to 5th floor, she stopped completely and took a deep breath. So much had happened in so little time and here she was in the same hallway where she and Danny had shared so many moments. She walked slowly toward the door and knocked softly. She wasn't sure he had heard her knock so she raised her fist to knock louder, but was abruptly stopped by the door swinging open.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey"

"Come in"

She walked in and he quickly grabbed her drenched coat and put it by the heating vent. She stood there awkwardly, not wanting to get his apartment any wetter and not really knowing what to say.

"I thought you weren't gonna come."

"Neither did I," she responded. Being around him was harder than she thought it would be, but she was determined to stay focused. He moved toward her, making her want to step back, but she stayed still and let him get closer. When he was right in front of her, with only a few inches between them, she decided they needed to start talking quick.

"So you wanted to talk, let's talk," she said.

"I don't know where to start… I guess I should start with I'm sorry. I've been horrible to you… and… and I want to be better… for you."

"I wish it were that simple, Danny. I wish you could say sorry and make it better, but you know better than I do that it doesn't work that way."

"I know but… I care, no… I… I love you… and I know we can make it work."

"You really think it can work?" she asked almost hopefully, "If you can stand there and honestly say we can make it work, then I will forget this all happened and we can start over."

"No… no, I guess I can't, but I don't want to give up on us."

"If you couldn't confide in me when you were hurting, what makes you think that you'll come to me the next time? And you know there will be a next time… it's inevitable in our line of work… I almost understand why you slept with Rikki… yeah, I figured it out" she added at the surprised look on Danny's face. "But it doesn't make it hurt less."

"If I could do it all again… it would have gone so differently. I never meant to hurt you—"

"I know you didn't and I know that you love me, even if this is the first time you've said it aloud, I also know that, given the opportunity, you would try to make it up to me for a very long time…" she said as tears started streaming down her face rapidly. "But you know that I don't trust you… you know that there can't be a real relationship without trust, and you also know that I would always be praying that you didn't get hurt again so I wouldn't have to worry about you finding comfort somewhere else."

"Yeah… I guess you're right… I do know that." He responded with his own tears forming. "So… what do we do now?"

"I guess… I guess we say goodbye," she answered through her sobbing.

They had maintained their closeness throughout the whole conversation and now that they were both crying, they closed the gap and held each other for a few minutes. Finally, she looked up at him and brought her lips to his. He, in response, deepened the kiss and they both poured all the pain, longing, and love for each other in the kiss. After a few minutes, they broke apart and Lindsay made her way to her coat and headed to the door.

"You gonna go finish your rain walk?" he asked.

She turned to look at him one final time and said," Yeah… I guess I am." And with that, she opened the door and left his apartment with the closure they both needed and a heart full of new pain.

_:::END OF FLASHBACK:::_

Lindsay looked down at her drink and waited until her tears subsided. Don was extremely quiet and she wondered if she had made him uncomfortable. After all, no matter how close she was with Flack, Danny was still his best friend and she frequently worried that she was putting him in the middle of everything.

She wiped at her tears hoping they would go away, but they were just followed by new ones. Suddenly, she felt a warmth at her side and an arm wrap around her, which made her let go and she cried harder while burying her face in his chest.

"I know I did the right thing… but… but why does my heart hurt so much?" she asked, wanting the hurt to just go away.

"Cause love ain't easy… why do you think people just give up and stay single? But know that if you made the right choice, the hurt will go away at some point. When that will be? I can't tell you, but you gotta hang in there," he answered, "… and I'll be here to help you."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So this chapter is a little short, but if I just thought that this could be a good set up for the next chapter. Please let me know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY or anything related to it. **

**CHAPTER 4**

Don Flack had been pulling double duty for about a month now, and it was a miracle that he hadn't broken down yet. Between Danny, Lindsay, work and trying to maintain some sort of relationship with Jess, he was lucky that he was able to keep it together. But he refused to let any of it go.

He was bound to Danny, and Danny needed him right now; they were brothers and they supported each other in everything. He and Lindsay were good friends now, and he was determined to be there for her. She was dealing with everything a lot better and seemed to be back to normal, or as normal one can be after getting their heart broken in pieces. He enjoyed spending time with her even if she was a little broken. Work was hectic. What was it about the summer that made people go crazy? The heat? It seemed like crime always went up in the summer and Don was lucky to get a couple nights off here and there, which left him with even less time with Jess. Their relationship was still casual and she seemed to be okay with that. He wasn't as into it as he would have liked, but he didn't really have any reason to break things off with her, and she wasn't asking for a lot. It seemed that she just stuck around for the company, which made him feel more at ease. The few times they had spent together, they had fun and it was easy.

This week was going to be crazier still, which was why Don was on his way to Stella's office to talk to her. He wasn't going to be able to spend as much with Lindsay this week, which disappointed him a great deal. And he knew that she was going home to an empty apartment everyday and no matter how much Lindsay insisted that she was okay, he refused to leave her alone. So he figured she could benefit from some girl time. She and Stella were good friends and had hung out outside of work a few times, but he wanted to make sure that they spent more time together this week.

Approaching Stella's office, he poked his head in to see if she was in.

"Hey Flack" she said as she saw him look inside.

"Hey, you got a minute?"

"Sure, what's up?" she asked.

"Well, I was wondering what your week looked like…"

"Um, well… it looks okay, why?"

"I thought that maybe if you were free—"

"Seriously?" she asked incredulously, "you're not asking me out, are you?"

"Wha—No… no, I was going to ask if you could maybe take Lindsay out sometime this week."

"Well, actually… we already made plans. I figured she needed a break from all the time you guys spend together," she laughed.

"Hey… I haven't heard any complaints," he said smiling, "what are you guys gonna do?"

"Oh, we're going salsa dancing… you always gotta go salsa dancing after a breakup," she stated as she gathered some files before heading for the door.

"Oh yeah? And why's that?" he asked as they were leaving her office.

"Because Latin men know how to love their women," she said with a smirk on her face.

He stopped dead in his tracks and knew that he didn't like the idea of Latin men loving Lindsay. He'd been to a salsa club a long time ago and though he had a lot fun, he didn't want Lindsay having that kind of fun without him.

He was on his way back to the station thinking of Lindsay with some latin guy when he ran into her. He never got over how beautiful she was. Even in jeans and a plain short-sleeved blouse, she looked amazing. He gathered his thoughts and tried be as casual as possible.

"What are you doing here? I hear you're swamped at the station" she asked.

"Just playin hookie… and I needed to talk to Stella bout somethin," he answered with a smile on his face.

"She tell you we're going dancing?"

"She may have mentioned it," he answered trying to be cool about it. He couldn't stand the thought of some Latin lover boy pressed up against her, sweating, and moving their bodies in unison.

"You okay? You look a little bothered," she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, anyway… you ever been dancing?"

"Yeah, but not salsa… it'll be new and fun."

"When are you ladies goin?"

"Friday, after my shift," she answered, "I gotta run though… Adam has some results for me… call ya later?"

"Yeah… see ya."

And with that, he watched her retreating back and felt his heart beat just a little faster knowing that he would be hearing her voice over the phone later that day.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So here's the next chapter. I am hoping to get more reviews so I know if I should continue. So please let me know what you think or even if you have requests or anything... just let me know. **

**Also, a while back I read some fanfic where they put links up for pictures for outfits that they described in their story. I thought it was clever, but I know that some people just don't care. But if you do, let me know and I can put up links for parts of Stella's and Lindsay's outfits. If not, that's fine. Just thought I'd ask. **

**Thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY or the outfits described. **

**CHAPTER 4**

It was Friday evening and Don was talking to Hawkes about some trace that they had found on the victim's jacket. However, he was having a hard time concentrating on what Hawkes was saying. He kept looking at Lindsay, who was running prints from the crime scene, and counting down the minutes till she was off.

"Flack, are you listening?" Sheldon asked when Don didn't respond to his question.

"Wha—Sorry man, just got a lot on mind."

"Yeah… I can see that."

"You wanna elaborate on that?" Don asked.

"Not really, I just need you to bring in the wife for questioning. The trace we found is eye makeup… specifically mascara." Sheldon laughed. He had seen Don looking at Lindsay the whole time, but he figured it wasn't the time or place to talk about it.

"Okay… I'll let you know when I'm back."

"Do you want me to keep an eye on things for ya?" Sheldon said with a smirk.

"Funny… you're a real riot, ya know that?" Don said as he walked away.

* * *

By the time Don was finished with the interrogation, which had been absolutely pointless, it was a quarter after 9 and Lindsay had been off for 15 minutes. He rushed back to the lab and was hoping to catch her before she left. He wasn't quite sure why, but this whole salsa dancing thing was messing with his head.

Once he got there, he found out from a couple of the lab techs that she was still in the locker room, and he wondered why she was still here. Outside the locker room, he could hear Lindsay's and Stella's voices arguing.

"I don't know about this…" Lindsay said worried, or maybe embarrassed.

"It looks good, I promise." Stella responded.

"It's so… um… revealing."

"That's kinda the point." Stella laughed.

"I know… and you look great… but… sexy is your thing… I'm more like… pretty? I don't know if that's the word I'm looking for, but you catch my drift."

"Lindsay, whether or not you believe it… you've got the sexy thing going on too… and right now, you look hot. But if you're not going to own this, then maybe you should change."

He heard Lindsay take a deep breath and say with a smile "You really think I look hot?"

"Every guy that sees you tonight is going to wish they were taking you home." Stella responded.

"Okay… I'm gonna own it."

He heard a set of footsteps and quickly took a couple steps back to pretend he was walking by. He saw Stella emerge from the locker room and a bunch of the people in the hallway stopped in their tracks to gawk. She was wearing a small red, sequined halter top that seemed to be made up of strings that tied everywhere, with a short, flowy black skirt. Her curly hair was down with a white flower in her hair and her long legs were finished off by a pair of gold, strappy heels.

Don was nervous. Stella looked hot… too hot… and if she had anything to do with what Lindsay was wearing…

"I'm pretty sure you all still have work to do… move along." Stella said in her authoritative voice as she addressed the frozen crowd. As they went their way, she spotted Don and smiled.

"Ya know, you can't blame them," Don said with a smirk, "You're lookin pretty good there."

"Thanks," she said laughing, "are you gonna be hanging around much longer?"

"Just a couple more minutes, I gotta go talk to Hawkes."

"Can you do me a favor? I gotta go pull the car around. When Lindsay's done can you just tell her to head to the lobby? She'll probably be a few more minutes."

"Yeah, sure… no problem," Don answered. He decided he would go update Hawkes on a new lead he had on their case while he waited when he heard Adam talking to Lindsay about some files he had retrieved from the victim's laptop. Or at least, he was _trying_ to talk to her, he was sputtering more than talking.

Don turned around and almost passed out. His heart had stopped mid-beat, and he couldn't seem to get enough oxygen to his brain.

She was wearing a back button-down shirt, which was tied mid-ribcage. Most of the buttons were undone which revealed a black, lacy bra. Her skirt was longer than Stella's; it went a little past her knee, but it sat lower on her hips. It was flowy and had a blue flower pattern on it. It had a black, lacy waistband which matched her bra and she was wearing nude colored strappy heels. Her hair was down and freshly curled and it flowed with every movement she made. She was owning it.

It seemed as though Adam was having a hard time too, which made Lindsay smile and made things worse for Don. He knew he was standing there with his eyes and mouth wide open, but he couldn't make himself move. Finally, after Adam's third time trying to explain what he had found, Don walked to them and while trying to remember what it was that Stella wanted him to tell her.

"Adam… just spit it out, I gotta go." Lindsay said slightly annoyed, but still smiling.

"Right… um, the vic had a bunch of erased e-mails from a woman that's not his wife. I tracked the IP address and it led me to an apartment building on the Upper East Side. I'm still trying to locate the exact apartment and the tenant." He said quickly, all while looking down at the case file. He couldn't blame Adam. She looked so… sexy. Now it was his turn to try to talk to her.

"Thanks Adam. Let me know when you find out the rest." Lindsay said.

"Yeah, let me know too cuz our list of suspects keeps getting shorter," Don interjected as Adam started to walk away.

"The wife is out?" Lindsay asked turning to him.

"Air-tight alibi, there's no way she coulda done it." Don answered.

"Looks like we've got a lot of work to do tomorrow."

"Hope you can handle it, Monroe… looks like tonight's gonna be a late night."

"I guess… I don't know how to latin dance at all so maybe it'll be an early night… Stella assures me that all the guys will be eager to teach me and that I'll be ok… but we'll see."

"I can see why they would be eager." Don said looking her up and down. His boldness took him by surprise and it was the first time he had made Lindsay blush. He kind of liked it.

"Anyway, Stella is waiting for you in the car in front of the lobby."

"Oh, thanks… I better go… wish me luck? I don't know… what do you say?"

"Have a good time, Lindsay." Don said with a smile, "but not too much fun."

She smiled and made her way to the elevators. He watched as her hips made her skirt sway from side to side and made people watch her as she walked by. At that moment he had an idea and went to find Sheldon.

* * *

"So I'm guessing it wasn't the wife." Sheldon said as Don walked in.

"Nope, but there's a housekeeper who hasn't been seen since the murder," Don replied.

"Ok, I'll go back to the scene and see if we can find some of the housekeeper's prints."

"Sounds good… Adam's working on something too, so hopefully we can get something soon."

Don was hesitant to change the subject, but he was desperate.

"My plans got cancelled… Jess got called in, so I was wondering… um… you got any plans tonight?" Don asked.

"Not yet, but I have a feeling that I do now… what are we doing?"

"Ever been to a salsa club?" Don asked.

"I had a feeling you would say that."

**Next Chapter: Salsa Dancing!! Yay! **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey guys!! Sorry for the huge delay. Life gets a little crazy, ya know? Anywho, I don't know how many people are still reading this, but I hope that those of you who are will enjoy and review! I'm going to try to update once a week... try being the keyword... lol. I'm not quite sure where the story will go, but if you guys have suggestions, feel free to let me know. And please, please, please review!! Thanks to everyone that has done so in the past. And I'm sorry for spelling/grammar errors. I try to proofread, but I always miss stuff since I do it late at night. Enjoy!!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything.**

**CHAPTER 6**

As Lindsay walked into the club, she started to feel nervous again. She was already weary of the outfit she was wearing and now she felt intimidated by the dancing. The dance floor was packed with people who knew what they were doing. How was she going to keep up?

"Let's go grab some drinks first," Stella said snapping her out of her thought process.

"Yeah… let's" she replied. She was hoping that the alcohol would ease her nerves.

They approached the bar and Stella ordered them some Margaritas while Lindsay tried to find them a table. As Lindsay looked around, she found a couple dancing near her and tried to analyze their every movement. She was mentally trying to break down the moves and began thinking that she may not fall flat on her face after all, when Stella brought their drinks.

"Here ya go," Stella said handing her the drink.

"Thanks," she answered.

"So… what do you think so far?"

"I'm not gonna lie… I'm a little scared," Lindsay said as she laughed.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine… you ready to head to the dance floor?"

"Not really… I think I need a little bit more to drink."

"Too bad… we're about to get asked to dance." Stella responded as she looked over Lindsay's shoulder.

Sure enough, there were two very good-looking men headed their way and Lindsay tried to shove as much of her drink down her throat as quickly as she could. Hoping the margarita kicked in soon, she smiled at the men as they got to their table.

"You ladies want to dance?" asked the one closest to Lindsay.

"We would love to," Stella answered as the other guy grabbed her hand and led her to the floor.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna watch a little longer," Lindsay answered.

"I can teach you the steps if you don't know them," he smiled. Lindsay was hesitant but then he added," I promise I don't bite" which broke the ice a little bit and she followed him to the dance floor.

The first dance she liked right off the bat. It consisted of only two steps and then the guy (which she later remembered to ask his name and found out it was Hector) would twirl her a bunch of times. He was really good at leading and she found she was really enjoying herself.

"What is this dance called?" she yelled over the music.

"Merengue… you like it?" he answered.

"Yeah, it's really simple." Just then the music changed and everybody started doing different steps around her.

"This one is salsa…watch my feet first," Hector instructed her.

"Now look at me and let me lead." He said after he had watched his feet a couple times.

Even though this dance was harder, she found that she was learning the steps rather quickly. After a while, she let loose and started wiggling and sashaying her hips like some of the other women around her. With each new song, Hector showed her what to do and she let the music guide her moves. She found that these dances where very intimate and sexy, and whenever her and Hector moved in a suggestive way she blushed a little. But that didn't mean she wasn't enjoying it. He was hot, exotic, patient, and polite and she would have been a fool not enjoy his closeness.

"You're a really good dancer," Hector said.

"Well, you're a really good teacher," Lindsay replied as Hector stared into her eyes. He just kept looking at her and it was starting to make Lindsay feel self-conscience.

"Anyone ever tell you how beautiful your eyes are?"

"Um, thanks," she responded as she blushed. She knew that he probably told that to all the women he met, but it still made her feel good. It had been a while since a guy gave her that kind of attention. Danny had always been good at making her feel beautiful, but now the only guy she ever spent time with was Don, and they were just friends. She couldn't help but think that it would be kind of nice if he said things like that to her.

It was crazy! Here she was dancing with a ridiculously gorgeous man on a night out to get her mind off her mending heart, and all she could think about was Don Flack.

After a while, she got thirsty and needed a little break, so she excused herself and headed back to the table where Stella was already sitting with a drink for her.

"Thanks… I'm so thirsty," Lindsay said as she sat down.

"Figured you would be… so what do you think now?" Stella asked.

"This is so much fun… thanks for bringing me."

"Anytime," Stella replied.

Just then the music changed completely, and Lindsay found that she recognized the song.

"Hey! I actually know this song," she said as Culo by Pitbull came on.

"Really? I'm a little surprised," Stella responded.

"Why?"

"Well, no offense Linds, but you don't look like the kind of person that listens to reggaeton," Stella answered.

"Oh, well… Danny had it on his I-Pod," Lindsay said as memories of her Danny rushed to her mind.

"I'm… sorry… I didn't know—"

"It's fine… Anyway, I definitely know how to dance to this…" Lindsay said as she started swaying to the music. She grabbed Stella's hand and they made their way to the dance floor.

She was a little buzzed so she completely got into it, and when someone approached her from behind and pressed his body to hers, she didn't miss a beat and kept dancing and began to sway her hips just a little more.

She leaned back into the stranger's body and raised her arms to put around his neck. In turn, the stranger started caressing her stomach and hips as they moved in unison to the music. He was a really good dancer, whoever he was. His movements were fluid and though his touches and caresses were gentle, she could feel heat behind them. After a few seconds, the man grabbed one of her hands and spun her around to face him. She froze.

"Flack?!" Through her shock, she didn't fail to notice how sexy he looked. He was wearing dark jeans that fit him just right, with a black t-shirt that showed off all his upper body muscles. It wasn't a look she saw very often, but she wasn't complaining.

"Why'd ya stop dancin'?" he asked with a mischievous (yet sexy, she noticed) grin. He quickly grabbed her and started to dance with her again. She went a long with it, but was still surprised to say the least. She was also a bit surprised at how much she enjoyed the way his body moved against hers. Sure, she had a small crush on him, but it was more of a slight attraction that really didn't mean anything, right? Who wouldn't be attracted to a hunky NYPD detective? Hunky? She was going crazy…

"What are you doing here?" she asked while they danced.

"Curiosity," he stated simply. And with that he held her tighter and let his hands roam over her body. At first she was taken aback by his movements and hand placements, but she felt her body heat up at his touch and she started to feel almost light-headed at his closeness. She loved the feel of his body and how the thin fabric of his shirt let her feel everything. She drank in his scent and let her body be taken over by the music… and Don.

_**About an hour earlier…**_

As soon as Don walked in with Sheldon, he spotted Lindsay. She was dancing with a guy that seemed to be enjoying himself a little too much. But he was immediately mesmerized by her movements. She moved so easily and so well and she moved in all the rights places and in all the right ways. She was a natural.

"Hey… let's head to the bar," Don suggested as he tried to keep his eyes off Lindsay long enough to function. He desperately needed some drinks in his system to stop the flip-flopping feeling in his stomach.

"Yeah… I think you're gonna need it," Sheldon replied with a knowing smile.

Don just rolled his eyes at him, but he wondered what Sheldon was thinking. He had been making a lot of little comments like that and kept looking at him as though he knew something.

When they got to the bar, Don ordered a couple shots of tequila and downed them almost instantly. He could feel all his nerves and tension leave his body. He looked for Lindsay as he sat back in his seat, but she wasn't in the same spot. As they sat there, a group of women walked by and smiled at them.

"You wanna go ask them to dance?" Sheldon asked.

"Nah… I'm good, but you go ahead," Don answered. "And don't have too much fun," he added as Sheldon walked away.

He had a couple more drinks before making his way through the dance floor to find Lindsay. The song changed to a song by Pitbull that sounded somewhat familiar, when he saw her dancing with Stella. She was dancing without inhibitions to the beat and her movements were intoxicating. Her curls were looser and cascaded down her back in waves. Her body was glistening with sweat and the lights danced off her skin. Her hips were swaying in a hypnotic motion. She was singing along to the words and she looked like she was having fun. Don couldn't help himself and came up behind her. He put his hands on her hips and moved his body against hers. At first, he thought that she would turn around and slap him. He knew she didn't know who he was, but she actually moved closer and kept dancing. As soon as she leaned into him, he almost groaned. It was like she was teasing him on purpose. She brought her hands up around his neck, and after a few seconds he grabbed her hand to turn her around. Suddenly, her movements stopped and he was left holding onto nothing.

"Flack?!" She exclaimed looking completely bewildered. He didn't fail to notice how good she looked with her face flushed from dancing and how the outfit look even better now that it was slightly disheveled like her hair.

"Why'd ya stop dancin'?" he asked as he grinned. He had seen how she had looked him up and down and he had to admit that it turned him on a little bit. He grabbed her and started to move to the music again.

"What are you doing here?" she asked while they danced.

He thought of five million answers to that question, but he didn't feel like he could say any of them. So he said…

"Curiosity."

They continued dancing, and as they did so, their movements became more and more sensual. Don couldn't help it when he slid down his hands to her butt and brought her even closer to him. Lindsay looked up at him through her lashes and smiled ever so slightly. She began to run her hands through his hair and slid her hands over his chest. Then her hands traveled down to the waistband of his jeans and let her hands slowly graze the curves of his butt. He was losing it. He didn't know how much more he was going to be able to handle, especially with Lindsay looking at him the way she was. He bit his lip in frustration and found Lindsay eyeing his lips seductively. In a flash, he lifted her body ever so slightly and brought down his face to hers. She leaned in and their lips made their way to each other. As soon as the lips were barely touching and they could feel each other's breaths on each other, the song ended and a more traditional salsa song came on. As soon as the song ended, it seemed that Lindsay had snapped out of whatever trance she had been in and immediately released herself from his grasp. Her face was bright red and she couldn't seem to make eye contact with him. He, on the other hand, couldn't stop looking at her and mentally cursed at the fact that the music had ended at that exact moment.

He wanted to keep dancing with her, but he knew that he had to tone it down a bit. She started to make her way off the dance floor when Don grabbed her.

"You gotta let me show off my amazing salsa skills," he said smiling as he twirled her around.

"You've got salsa skills?" she asked, starting to feel a little more comfortable.

"Are you doubting me?"

"No… I'm… just surprised, I guess."

"I'm full of surprises, Monroe" he said with a wink.

Don was an amazing dancer. He knew when to spin her, when to dip her, and he even threw in a couple lifts. He was also really good at leading. Lindsay found herself doing moves that she never though she could do. She was having so much fun dancing with him, but she made sure to not get carried away. The feelings that were bubbling inside her during their last dance were still simmering down. It seemed as though he too was behaving and it put her a little more at ease.

Song after song, they kept dancing. It seemed that Don was familiar with all the dances and she loved how he twirled her and spun her around. Eventually, another reggaeton song came on and Lindsay thought it was too dangerous to dance like that with him again, so she grabbed Don's hand to lead them to her and Stella's table.

"Stella's probably worried about me and I'm thirsty," she yelled back at him over the music.

She liked the way his hands felt in hers, but she pushed the thought out of her head as they approached Stella.

"Hey, Sheldon… you're here too!" She said seeing Hawkes sitting next to Stella.

"Yeah, I was kinda dragged by someone."

"Whatever… you wanted to come," Don said.

"This defeats the whole girl's night out thing," Stella said trying to look upset.

"But you love us… so it's ok," Don replied smiling.

"I'm gonna head to the bar… you guys want anything?" Lindsay asked.

"Yeah, just get us a round of shots," Stella said.

"K, I'll be back."

"So how's your night been so far?" Don asked as Lindsay walked away.

"Really good actually," Stella answered. "I think I might convince Lindsay to make this a regular outing."

"That's… great," Don lied.

He looked over at the bar and saw Lindsay talking to the guy she had danced with earlier. It seemed like he was asking for her number and it appeared as though she was giving it to him. He felt a twinge of jealousy at the flirting that was going on. He looked away and tried to focus on the conversation going on in front of him.

He was more confused that ever. For so long, he had tried to convince himself that he didn't have any romantic feeling for Lindsay, despite all the obvious signs. But after tonight, he couldn't deny it any longer. He just wasn't sure what to do about it. He didn't even think he _could _do anything about it.

What a mess he was in...


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey guys! I know I kind of took a long time to update, but here's the next chapter. It includes bits of Sex, Lies, and Silicone. Please, please, please take the time to review and let me know what you think! And thank you to those that have already reviewed! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI:NY.**

**CHAPTER 7**

"Flack… do you think I'm sexy?"

"What?" Don said as he choked on his morning coffee. He and Lindsay were sitting in a coffee shop across the street from the station.

"I asked if you thought I was sexy," Lindsay asked again.

"Where is this coming from?" He asked, desperately trying to avoid the question.

Since that night at the salsa club a week ago, Don had not been able to stop thinking about Lindsay. Of course she was sexy! Had she not seen herself that night? Or any other day, for that matter? Lindsay had that amazing ability to look like the girl next door… you know, the one you can take to mom and dad and know that they would highly approve… and then transform into the girl from your wildest fantasies, the one who could spend the whole day having sex with you and make you want more just by looking at her.

He had only had the opportunity to see the latter side of Lindsay a small handful of times. Of course, there was the club and the way she looked that night, and the time she was wearing that wifebeater when they met up for drinks, but there had been other times that took place while she was with Danny. Being Danny's best friend meant you ran into a lot of women with not a lot of clothing in his apartment. Lindsay had made the mistake once of opening the door wide open, thinking it was Danny, in nothing but a tiny bra and even smaller underwear. He had never really been successful in getting that image out of his head…

"Nothing really… It's just that... never mind, it's stupid."

"Never mind my ass, you can't just ask me a question like that and expect me to ignore it. What's goin' on?"

"My cousin is coming to visit my Uncle Freddie next week, and she made me promise to go out 'on the town' with her."

He was lost. What did a cousin from the middle of nowhere have to do with Lindsay's sexiness?

"Sorry… to me that's such an obvious explanation," she laughed when she noticed is confused expression. "My cousin is from LA, born and raised, and she has always been the epitome of sexiness. She doesn't even have to try, and I hate her for it… well, not really, but you get what I'm sayin'. Last time we went out, I was in college and I went to visit her. The whole night I was 'the cute one' and no one wants the cute one, they want the hot one. Anyway, let's just say I'm not looking forward to it," she said in a huff.

Don just looked at her and laughed. Lindsay was never insecure. She was one of the most confident women he had ever known, and here she was wondering if she was as attractive as a cousin, and dreading going out with her. To him, Lindsay was the epitome of sexiness and no cousin of hers was going to change his mind.

"Monroe, I think you'll be okay. The last time you saw her was in college, and a lot can change."

"I know… but I doubt she's changed. And I know I sound silly, but anytime we're together I feel so inferior to her and I find myself trying to outdo her. I hate when I'm like that," she said. "She's such a brat, too. Her father is my dad's brother, and he kind of looks down on my dad for staying in Bozeman. I guess he passed that down to his children. I don't know, maybe it'll be better since I live in New York now."

"You'll be fine… and for the record… yes," Don said with a smirk.

"Yes what?" She asked.

"To your original question."

"Hmm… interesting," she said as she smiled and bit her lip. Her phone buzzed at that moment, and she pulled it out to look at a text message. "That kinda sucks… it's Adam with some test results. I wanted to stay and talk about how you think I'm sexy, but duty calls. I'm not gonna forget though."

She gave him a devious smile and headed for the door. Don watched her retreating figure and shook his head. Before he got up from the table, his phone vibrated in his pocket. When he looked at his cell phone, he saw that he had 2 text messages.

The first one was from Lindsay:

**Dito ;)**

That woman was going to be the death of him.

The second one was from Angell:

**Hey, we need to talk. Can you do lunch?**

Something was up. Women never said "we need to talk" unless it was something big.

................................................................................................................................................................

At noon, Jessica Angell made her way to Don Flack's desk. She was a little nervous about lunch. How was she going to tell him that she wanted to break things off? Especially when she didn't really want to?

Since day one, Jess had been attracted to the blue-eyed homicide detective and who could blame her? He was sweet, dedicated, caring, passionate… and it didn't hurt that he looked like he should be modeling underwear on a billboard in Times Square.

They had always flirted, and Jess figured someday it would go somewhere. Unfortunately, by the time she worked up the courage to make a move, Don wanted someone else.

It didn't take her long to figure it out, but she knew that he hadn't realized it yet and she wasn't going to let a good catch go. But when he was spending more time with his "friend" than he was with her, she knew that something had to be done.

Jess figured that part of the reason that he wasn't pursuing Lindsay Monroe was because she was Danny's ex and it would complicate his friendship with Danny. Not to mention the fact that in the recent talks she and Lindsay had, Lindsay had vowed never again to date a coworker and it didn't sound like she would let up anytime soon.

If somehow Don was able to convince her otherwise, Jess was not going to stand in the way of Lindsay's happiness. That girl deserved a decent guy more than anyone. She was downright the nicest cop she had ever known, and after what life had thrown at her, she deserved a break. Plus, she was pretty sure that Don had strong feelings for Lindsay, whereas Jess only really had a crush on him, a big crush, but not feelings strong enough to stand in between Don and Lindsay.

"Hey, Don. You ready?" She asked as she approached his desk.

"Yeah… where are we headed?" he asked as he put on his suit jacket.

"I thought we could just grab a couple hot dogs and walk around, sound good?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

They left the station and made their way down the street. After they found a street vendor that approved Flack's inspection, they settled down in a nearby bench.

"So… you wanted to talk to me about something?" Don asked hesitantly.

"You get right to the point, don't you?" She joked.

"I'm just curious… when someone says they need to talk, it doesn't mean something good. I'm just a little surprised, you know. I like how we are."

"You do? Don… when was the last time we went out?"

"Um—"

"Exactly. I know you like the whole casual thing, but we don't even see each other often enough for it to be anything at all." She took a deep breath and continued.

"I'm not looking to settle down, but I do want some sort of commitment. I like you and I'd love to keep dating you, but we want 2 different things. I think for now we should just stick to being friends."

Don was shocked. In all honesty, if it weren't for Lindsay, he would have been crazy about Jess. He liked her and enjoyed the time they spent together, but he couldn't stop thinking about Lindsay. He knew she was right. He couldn't keep stringing her along, but Lindsay wasn't really an option, was she?

"Don? Say something."

"I… um, well, I'm just a little surprised, but you're right. You need something I can't really give you right now," he said. "Are we gonna be okay, though?"

"Of course. When haven't we been okay?" She said with a smile.

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

When Don got back to the precinct, he saw Lindsay waiting for him at his desk. He couldn't help but smile, which in turn frustrated him. He should be upset that a perfectly good woman dumped him a few minutes ago. What he was upset about were all the complications he would have to face if he were to pursue Lindsay. He was upset that despite all the complications, he still wanted her and found himself silently slipping in love her… wait! What? Had he just thought that? He wasn't in love with her, he couldn't be…

"Don… you okay?" Lindsay asked as he got closer.

"Yeah, um, I'm fine… just got a lot on my mind."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Nah… what's up? What brings you here?"

"We found out who purchased our doll in question. Mac wants us to follow up on it. You ready?"

The Anne Steele case had led them into this whole doll world that apparently was really popular with New York men. The whole thing was really strange and somewhat funny in Don's opinion, but whatever kept people happy…

"Yeah, I'll meet you at the car."

He watched her leave and decided he had a lot to figure out. At this point, he wasn't even sure that she felt anything for him anyway (though he was sure she felt the chemistry between them since that night at the salsa club), and he realized that he couldn't just keep pretending he wasn't feeling what he was feeling.

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Don and Lindsay were standing in an elevator with a doll and an older woman giving them (specifically Don) dirty looks. Lindsay was having a hard time holding in her laughter and Don didn't know whether to laugh or tell the old woman that they were cops. Soon enough, the elevator reached the lobby, and Lindsay rushed out in a fit of laughter.

"You okay there?" Don asked.

"Yeah… I'm sorry. I thought that woman was going to hit you with her purse," she said trying to catch her breath.

"Why did she have to look at me like that? You're with me… it could have been your doll."

"Not likely," she said as they made their way to the door.

She held the door open for him as he pushed the doll through the door.

"How weird was that? There's no way that one of these could replace a real woman!" she said as they made their way down the street.  
**"**Oh I don't know, Linds. They're not bad looking. Think of all the money a guy could save on dinner."

Lindsay paused in the middle of the street, and before Don could ask her what was going on…

"A doll? I mean I could understand if you dumped me for a real woman but a piece of plastic? What does she have that I don't have? Huh?"

She walked past in huff, and he was left behind to be given strange looks by people on the street.

"Forgive my wife. She's not well. I'm gonna get you for that Monroe. Big time."

When he finally caught up with her, she was hunched over next to the car in a fit of giggles. When she saw him, she straightened up and simply said "That's what you get," while she helped him get the doll inside and then got in the car herself.

"That wasn't nice. At all. You owe me." He stated.

"I was just proving a point; I don't owe you a thing."

"Fine. Then I'll just get you back."

She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. She seemed to struggle with what would be her better option: wait for him to get her back or make it up to him.

"Let's say I owe you… what did you have in mind?"

"A wedding."

"Excuse me?" Lindsay asked with a shocked expression.

"Calm down, Linds. I need a date to my cousin's wedding." He said with a smile.

"_You_ need a date?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. It's just that I have a hard time believing that you have to blackmail a girl to go on a date with you," she said jokingly.

"It's not blackmail, smartass… it's a favor."

"Uh huh, sure," she paused and then added, "Why don't you take your girl?"

"My girl?"

"Yeah… you know, Jess," she said awkwardly.

"Monroe… are you jealous?" he asked with a teasing smile.

"What? No. I was just wondering why you would ask me when it would make more sense to take your girlfriend and—"

"We're not dating anymore," he interjected.

"Oh… I'm sorry."

"Don't be… it was for the best, and we're still friends, so it's all good."

"Well, if you want to talk about it or if you need anything, I'm here for you."

"I know and thank you," he said. "and I do need something… a date to my cousin's wedding."

"Fine, I'll go… but mostly because you're going to hang out with me and my cousin when she gets here and because I figure that your family is making you bring a date."

"What? How did you know about that?" he asked incredulously.

"I was right? Man, I'm good!"

"Whatever..." he said as they made their way back to the lab.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey everyone! I'm soooo sorry for the long absence. I feel like every time I update I'm apologizing for taking so long, but hopefully things will be better now. I'm finally out of school, so maybe I'll update more frequently? I hope so. Thanks for the reviews! And please keep reviewing… it makes me want to update sooner. **

**About the chapter: So I'm not crazy about this chapter. Part of the reason it took me so long to update was because I had no idea what to write. So let me know what you think. There is a little tiny bit of Danny/Lindsay, but it's only there because I think it's near impossible for someone to get over an ex so quickly and because there will be Danny/ Lindsay friendship later on. There will be a little more D/L before the friendship comes, but this is FM. **

**Look for the author's note at the bottom.**

**Enjoy and review!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Lindsay's cousin Melissa.**

**CHAPTER 8**

Lindsay stood in the subway and shook her head at her reflection in the window. Her cousin, Melissa, turned her inside out. Lindsay never cared what people thought about her and she never let them dictate what she wore or how she acted, but Melissa had some voodoo power over her and she never really understood why. Melissa always made her feel inferior because she was a country girl. Now she lived in New York and she was going to make sure to give Melissa a taste of her own medicine. And so, today when they were going to meet up for lunch, Lindsay was going to show Melissa just what a knockout she was. Because of the hot weather, Lindsay had chosen to wear a pair of cute, and slightly dressy short shorts with a white corset tube top. Her hair was in perfect messy curls and her makeup finished off the look perfectly. She chose just the right accessories and her tan leather high heeled sandals made the look complete. She had to admit that her clothes made her look a lot younger than she was, but that was a good thing, right?

Unfortunately, she had gotten called to the lab while she was on her way to run a couple errands before lunch. Don found some new leads on their most recent case and she needed to run some tests and follow up those new leads. So now she was on the train on her way to the lab and she looked like she was on her way to meet up with her sorority sisters. She looked ridiculous. Well, actually she looked good… really good, but she felt ridiculous and this look wasn't her. She shook her head again and made her way to the doors to get off the train. Now she had to face all her coworkers in her next-to-nothing outfit. Great, she thought sarcastically.

She pulled out her phone and quickly called Melissa to let her know she would have to push lunch to a late lunch a couple hours later. Once that was taken care of, she took a deep breath and made her way to the elevator. She knew that she was supposed to meet Don at the precinct, but she figured she would save herself some embarrassment and get a lab coat from the lab first. When she reached the right floor, she put her head down and practically ran to her locker so no one would recognize her. She made it without detection until she ran into something muscular.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" said a thick Staten Island accent.

"Sorry… I was just trying to get to my locker," Lindsay answered without looking up. Of all the people to run into, she figured with her luck she would end up ramming into Danny. Things weren't as awkward between them and they were slowly getting back to being good friends, but there was still a strong attraction between them, and she just wasn't completely over everything that happened yet.

"Here," he said as he handed her the lab coat that she had been desperate to obtain.

"How did you—," she began to ask in confusion.

"Remember that one time when you thought Melissa was coming to visit and she ended up canceling last minute? Well, I remembered how crazy you got and how you went all out with the outfits... It's funny, you know, I don't think I ever saw you wear less clothing than I did then in all the time we dated… anyway, I figured it would be the same this time around and when Flack told me he had called you in, I remembered you were having lunch with her so I thought you may not be dressed very appropriately for work. I was just on my way downstairs to leave this at the desk when you checked in… apparently, I wasn't fast enough," he finished his long explanation while helping Lindsay put on her lab coat.

Moments like this reminded her of why she had fallen in love with him. Despite his rough exterior, he was thoughtful and remembered little things that made you realize how much he cared. Moments like this made her realize that she wasn't completely over him and she had to remind herself why they had broken up to snap out of it.

"Thank you," she replied.

"No matter what… I still got your back, Montana," he said as he began to walk away.

She smiled at the nickname and desperately tried to get her heartbeat in check.

As she walked into the precinct, she wrapped her lab coat around her a little tighter and tried to find Don. Despite her being able to hide her attire, she still wasn't able to entirely avoid the wolf whistles and cat calls as she walked to Don's desk. She wasn't surprised. It was all mostly friendly teasing, and they did it to any female officer who looked a little nicer than usual.

She approached Don's desk and saw him filling out what looked like a report. He looked so cute when he was trying to concentrate on something, actually, and she realized that her heartbeat had accelerated as it had just moments ago with Danny. Only this time, she felt flutters in her stomach which seemed to happen often around Don. At that moment, he looked up and smiled as he saw her walking towards him and the flutters worsened. That smile could melt any woman.

"Hey, bout time you got here," he said jokingly.

"You're just lucky I came."

"Yeah… sorry again for calling you in on your day off."

"Don't worry about it… it's the most progress we've made in days so I was kind of excited to get your call," she answered, but soon realized how that statement sounded and she suspected that he picked up on it too by the smirk he was now giving her.

"I just meant that I was excited to hear that there were new leads," she corrected herself and quickly tried to change the subject. "Anyway, what do you need me to follow up on?"

Allowing her to change the subject, Don handed her some files and explained his new findings. Grabbing the files, Lindsay turned around to head to the lab.

"Hey Linds… I forgot to mention… you look nice today."

"Thanks… I try," she answered playfully.

"I'm guessing that I interrupted something with your cousin?"

"What… I can't look nice unless it's for my cousin?"

"Don't go putting words in my mouth, Monroe," he answered. "Anyway, I'll see you in a little bit. I gotta go talk to Hawkes about another case."

"K, I'll try to hurry."

Once Lindsay was out of the door, she took a moment to catch her breath. Whatever crush she had on Don just seemed to be getting out of hand. With each interaction they had, his effect on her seemed to be stronger. She took a second more to compose herself and then made her way to the lab.

While waiting for a call back on an alibi to finish up with everything, Lindsay's phone went off. Forgetting that she was expecting the call back on her office phone, she answered without looking at the caller id.

"Monroe," she answered.

"Oh my gosh! You sound so cute when you're trying to be all serious and what not."

"Hey Melissa," she said with a sigh. "I'm almost done here so we can have lunch in an hour or less."

"Actually, I'm in the neighborhood and I figured I would meet you at your job. And then you can show me around your office and stuff!" Melissa said.

"But I –"

"I'll be there in a few minutes, maybe like 5, k?"

"But—"

"See ya soon!"

"Bu—"

Click. That's all she heard as she desperately tried to stop her. First of all, she wasn't ready to introduce Melissa to her coworkers and second of all, she didn't want her coworkers to see what she was wearing. Why on earth did she feel like it was okay to leave her apartment dressed like some party girl? She was exaggerating a little, but she was so much more classy and mature than what she had on. Her office phone rang snapping her out of her internal lecture, and she was able to finish up all the work she had to do.

"Yo, there's a girl here saying she's your cousin," Adam said as he poked his head into her office.

"Thanks… I'll be right there."

She gathered the files and left her office to find Melissa. Finding her wasn't very hard at all. There she was wearing almost the same thing as Lindsay, but it seemed like she was wearing the couture versions. She was standing by Don, giggling at something he'd said, and she felt a jolt of jealousy course through her body.

"Melissa… you're here," Lindsay interrupted. "And I see you've met Flack."

"Yeah, I was coming to find you when I ran into her," answered Don.

"And he's not kidding, he literally ran into me," Melissa added as she giggled some more.

"Right… anyway, here's the case files back. I added what I found and made notes on things you should look at and follow up. Mel, I'm gonna go get my stuff from my locker and we can head out, k?"

And with that she started walking toward the locker room to escape her cousin, even if just for a few minutes.

As she rummaged through her locker to gather her stuff, she realized that she had a white v-neck shirt from a couple of months ago. Relief washed over her as she quickly removed her lab coat and top, and threw on her new found shirt. She looked at her reflection and was pleased with what she saw. Sure, the shorts showed a lot of leg, but it was okay to show off one asset at a time. She quickly fixed her makeup and hair, grabbed her purse and left to find Melissa.

Don's POV:

As Don was answering Melissa's question about his funniest bust, he saw Lindsay walking towards them and everything stopped. It was as if everything moved in slow motion. Her hair seemed to flow like silk, while her legs seemed to go on for days. She quickly turned around to answer Mac's question as he walked by, and Don did not fail to notice how well her shorts showcased her tight butt. Her shirt was loose fitting, but somehow managed to accentuate all the right places. He was pretty sure that he started feeling drool slip out of his mouth, not to mention other things. He tried to shake it off before she reached them, and continued with his story which he had abruptly stopped.

"You ready?" Lindsay asked when she got to them.

Oh man, how he wanted to answer that. He was so ready… so ready for everything she had to offer, ready to show her what he could give. Oh yeah, he was ready.

"Yeah… Don do you want to come?" Melissa asked.

"Sorry ladies, I've still got work to do," he answered. "Have fun, though," he added as he walked away. He wanted to go. He tried to take any chance to spend time with Lindsay, but he still had work to do.

Lindsay's POV:

After lunch with Melissa, she made her way back to her apartment. She was exhausted and frustrated. Lunch hadn't been as terrible as she had anticipated, but it still wasn't pleasant. They talked about their jobs, their love lives (or lack of in Lindsay's case), and inevitably Melissa's amazing life. In fact, the latter was what was most discussed during their lunch. They went their separate ways after making plans for the following evening. Usually, Lindsay would be absolutely dreading their evening together, but she was going to invite everyone from work. After calling Stella and Sheldon and telling them to spread the work, she picked up the phone to call Flack. She was still slightly agitated from seeing Melissa and Flack together, and it didn't help that Melissa had made sure to let Lindsay know how hot Flack was. But was it any woman's fault if they found themselves completely entranced by that man?

"Flack," he answered his phone.

"Hey, it's Lindsay" she replied.

"Hey, how was lunch?"

"Um, it was… not horrendous."

"I'm guessing that's a good thing?"

"Yeah, it is," she laughed. "So, you know how you said that you would hang out with me and my cousin while she was here?"

"Actually, as I remember, it was you who said that I would, but yes… go on."

"Well, we made plans for tomorrow night. Can you come?"

"Yeah, sure. Where?"

"I don't know if you're gonna like it," she said.

"Where?" He asked apprehensively.

"Touch… that new nightclub on 52nd."

"Really?"

"She chose it, but everybody's going, so we can all feel out of place together," she said hopefully.

"I don't really wanna go there, but for you… I will."

"Thanks. We're meeting up around 9." she answered feeling a little giddy.

"Sounds good. Now… tell me all the sordid details about lunch."

And with that, Lindsay started to describe her lunch date while Don pretty much laughed the whole time. She loved how easy it was to talk to him and how he made her laugh so easily. She was so confused.

The Next Night:

"What the hell am I going to wear?" Lindsay screamed in frustration as she flung half her closet's contents on her bed, almost hitting Stella.

Stella had volunteered to come over and get ready for their get together at Lindsay's apartment so she could help Lindsay get ready. Stella was done while Lindsay had her makeup and hair done but was still running around in her underwear.

"Linds, you've shown me like 20 outfits that look amazing on you. Just pick one."

"But I feel like each outfit either makes me look trashy or too conservative."

"I give up! You've got 10 minutes to choose. When I come back, if you're not dressed, I will pick for you and you may not like it," Stella said as she rose from the bed and left the room.

"That's not helpful!" Lindsay yelled after Stella.

She continued to rummage through her closet until she happened upon a dress bag. She didn't remember what dress was inside, and she unzipped it in hasty curiosity. Hanging there was a black sequenced short-sleeved dress with a plunging v at the neckline. It was gorgeous and she quickly took it out of the closet and began putting it on. However, she was suddenly struck with the memory of buying the dress.

She bought it while she had been with Danny, and had planned to wear on her birthday. She bought it the day before Ruben died, when everything was great between them and she had been sure that Danny would go all out for her birthday. Unfortunately, nothing went as planned and the dress remained in the back of the closet never to be worn.

As promised, Stella came back in the room ready to pounce, but was stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Lindsay in the black dress.

"It's perfect! Where have you been hiding that?" Stella asked.

"I forgot I had it," Lindsay responded trying to keep the emotions out of her voice. "I don't know if I should wear it, though."

"What? No, we're leaving right now and that damn dress is staying on. It's beautiful."

Before Lindsay had time to protest, Stella had grabbed her arm and they were out the door to pick up Melissa from Uncle Freddie's house.

When they got to the club, Adam and Sheldon were already there saving them a table. After all the introductions were made, Sheldon let them know that Don was running late, and Mac and Danny were not going to make it because they were working late on their case. Truth be told, Lindsay was a little relieved that Danny wouldn't be there. She didn't think she could handle spending a social outing with both him and Don at the same time.

Lindsay volunteered to get drinks for the girls, and that's when she saw him. Don had just walked in on his cell phone and was looking around trying to find everybody. He was wearing dark slacks with a light colored button down shirt. He looked so sexy, but if Lindsay was being honest with herself, he always looked sexy no matter what he wore. He spotted her at the bar and immediately smiled. It killed her when he smiled at her like that. He got off the phone and came to sit next to her.

"You look amazing," he said to her.

"Thanks… you don't look half bad yourself," she tried to reply coolly.

"Thanks… you're too kind," he answered sarcastically. "How's it going so far?"

"Not bad. It definitely helps to have everyone here. Speaking of which, we should probably head over there with their drinks."

They carried over the drinks Lindsay had ordered for the girls and the additional drink Don ordered himself.

"Donnie! You're here! I saved you a seat right next to me," Melissa said as she moved over to make a place for him.

"Oh, thanks," Don relied unenthusiastically.

The same jolt of jealousy that Lindsay had felt earlier came hurtling back with a vengeance. She could tell Don wasn't too excited about having Melissa cozying up to him the whole night, but it still bugged her to no end. She ended up sitting on his other side and next to Stella.

They all chatted away with each other and had a few laughs. Lindsay found that she was enjoying herself quite a bit, despite the snarky remarks sent her way by Melissa. Of course it helped that throughout the night Don's arm kept brushing up against hers, and his hand would accidentally brush against her thigh. His touches sent electricity through her body and her heart would start beating erratically. Eventually, the touches didn't seem so accidental. His hand would linger longer on her leg, and when their arms would touch, neither of them would move, while the space between them was almost non-existant. Though they were talking to other people, Lindsay's hand had found a home right next to Don's. Their pinkies kept touching, but it seemed both were wary about letting their hands come any closer. When Lindsay was strongly considering placing her hand on top of his, her cell phone started vibrating in her purse. She was actually thankful for the distraction. Though she hadn't had much to drink, she was pretty sure the alcohol was starting to affect her sense of judgment.

Lindsay immediately excused herself from their table and went to the bathroom. When she finally got her phone out and looked at it, she saw that it was her mother. What on earth was her mom doing calling her so late? Something was not right.

"Mom? What's wrong?"

**A/N 2: Due to the fact that all the chapters seem to be describing outings, or talking about outings, or clothing, I am finding a way around the Flack's cousin's wedding unless you guys want me to have a wedding chapter. Let me know in your reviews.**

**Review!**


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